Vending machine



Jan. 10, `1950 J. M. DEvENs VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1947 Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,493,753 VENDING MAcHiNE Joseph M. Devens, Springfield, Mass. Application August 29, 1947, Serial No. 771,340

(Cl. S12- 48) Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in vending machines and is directed more particularly to improvements in devices of this character in which bottled beverages or other goods contained in cylindrical packages may be supported and advanced from their positions so as to be dispensed as may be desired.

This application is a continuation in part of an application filed by me on June 21, 1944, and serially numbered 541,311, which matured as Patent No. 2,440,251 on April 27, 1948.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of parts in a vending machine which is characterized by a means for receiving and dispensing successive articles from a stack or from a plurality of stacks thereof so as to deliver them one after another.

As a special feature of the invention, a cabinet is provided with vertical magazines for stacks of bottles and a dispensing means removably associated with the magazines, the same being adapted to dispense bottles from one magazine and then to dispense bottles from a second adjacent magazine.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device lof this character which will allow the cylindrical package to be advanced to a delivery means and to be discharged one at a time through an opening or openings in the walls of the casing.

This machine may, if desired, be of the coin controlled type, in which may also be incorporated a refrigerating or cooling system for the bottled beverages stored within and dispensed from the machine.

With the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a vending machine embodying the novel features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of one of the dispensing mechanisms of the invention;

Fig. 3 and 4 are sectional elevational views on the lines 3-3 and 4 4 respectively of Fig. 2; and

Fig.. 5 is an end elevational view yof one of the gates of the mechanism shown in 2.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

The vending machine includes a cabinet 2 which has a closure or wall member 4 removably secured thereto by any suitable means. The outer walls of the cabinet may be insulated in any of the well known manners and in the lower portion of the cabinet 2 there may be provided a compartment 6 for a cooling or refrigerating unit of any well known construction.

In the upper portion of the cabinet 2, there are a plurality of vertically extending transversely spaced partition walls 8 which form vertical magazines l0. The magazines Ill, of which there may be any desired number are adapted to receive bottles or other cylindrical packages I2. The longitudinal axes of the bottles I2 are disposed horizontally.

The magazines Il) are open at their forward sides or ends so that with the closure member 4 removed, the magazines are accessible and bottles may be easily stacked therein or removed therefrom.

The partition walls 8 terminate on a transverse line indicated by I4 as shown in Fig. 1.

. Below the partition walls 8 and the magazines IB, a space is provided within the cabinet which is adapted to receive a dispensing mechanism or unit I6 which is shown in Fig. 2. One of these mechanisms will now be described.

It will be noted that for purposes of clarity, a complete dispensing mechanism has not been shown in Fig. 1.

A lower wall i8 has side walls 2l! and a rear wall 22 extending upwardly vertically therefrom. An upper member 24 extends transversely across the unit at its forward and upper side and is secured to the walls 2E! in any suitable manner.

Upper partition walls 26 are secured to the rear wall 2'2 and the upper member 24 and are so ar*- ranged yas to align themselves with the partition walls 8 of the cabinet when the unit is in position. Lower partition walls 28 are in alignment with the upper partition walls 26 and are secured to the rear Wall 22 and the lower wall I8. Iniclining walls 30 are provided and these incline towards each other and toward the central feeding mechanism to which they are related as will presently be shown.

A wall member 32 is disposed between the .walls 28 and inciines forwardly and downwardly toward a discharge outlet 34 which is provided in the closure' member 'il l With the i6 within the cabinet 2, the walls 30 are adapted to support a stack of bottles or cylindrical packages, as indicated in Fig. 1. t

Carrier members 40 are provided having their upper ends journalled in members 42 which are secured to the rear wall 22 and to the upper member 24 and having their lower ends journalled in Y a member 46 which is secured to the lower wall I8.

The lower portions of the carrier members 4U extend through apertures or openings 44 in the wall member 32.

A gear 48 is Xed to each carrier member 40 which gears are interengaged. A worm 50 is provided in engagement with one of the gears 48 and same is xed to a shaft 52 of a motor 54' in any of the well known manners. When the motor 54 is energized, the shaft 52 and worm 50 actuate the interengaging gears T48 whereby the carriers 40 secured thereto are simultaneously rotated. i

The carriers 4t are provided with bottle supporting threads or heliXes 54. In a pair of such carriers, one of the heliXes is of right hand and its mate is of left hand and they are so related as to permitrreception of a bottle or cylindrical package or object therebetween and in the-convolutions thereof.

The helixes 54 support the objectswith theirY longitudinal axes disposed horizontally and a lowermost-object is released thereby onto the wall 32 during each cycle of operation of the carriers.

The carriers having opposite threads and being geared together they rotate simultaneously in opposite directions. As they rotate during each cycle they are adapted to lower successive bottles onto the wall member 32. carriers during a cycle may be through 180 degrees."

When the bottles are disposed in adjacent magazines, the carrier members receive and dispense bottles from the magazines directly thereabove. When a particular magazine is empty,

. the carrier members receive and dispense bottles from adjacent magazines.

Upper portions of links 60 are journalled into the lower portions of the walls 26 and the upper ends of gate members 62 are swingable on said links as may be seen in Fig. 5. The lower extremities of the .gate members V62 are provided with tongues 64 which are receivable in slots 66 so as to lie behind the walls 28. L oops 68 integral with the links 60 are provided which are adjacent inner ends of the gate members 62.

Bottles carriers and supported thereby press against the loops S8 so as to prevent inward movement of the gate members 62 due to the pressure of bottles in the magazines at the sides thereof.`

rWhen bottles in the magazines directly above the carriers are exhausted, the lowermost bottle ofthe magazine adjacent thereto presses inwardly on the associated gate member and by means of the link connection the gate member is swung upwardly and outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 'so that the said lowermost bottle moves along the wall 3U and onto the carriers in the heretofore described manner.

The unit i6 may have additional wall members similar to 26, 28 and 30 as well as gate members similar to those just described so that it may operate with any desired member of magazines.

A coincontrolled switch mechanism may be connectedfto the motor 54 and so Varranged as to eect rotation of the carriers whereby the lowermost bottle supported thereby is released onto The rotation of the from the magazines directly above theV wall 32 and then out through opening 34 at the desired time.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description, and all modications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for receiving and dispensing bottles from a vertical stack thereof wherein said bottles have their longitudinal axes horizontally disposed, a pair of carriers rotatable on vertical aXesand vertical walls spaced therefrom and cooperating therewith to form vertical magazines at opposite sides thereof, said carriers having members helically arranged longitudinally thereof with the members of said carriers being of opposite hand, and means to rotate said carriers si- .ultaneously in opposite directions, whereby bottles are `supported by the helical members of the carrier and retained therein by said vertical walls and adapted so that as the carriers are rotated a lowermost bottle is released thereby.

2. Apparatus for receiving and dispensing bottles from a vertical stack thereof wherein said bottles have their longitudinal axes horizontally disposed, a pair of carriers rotatable on vertical axes and vertical walls spaced therefrom and c0- operating therewith to form vertical magazines at oppos1te sides thereof, said carriers having members'helically arranged longitudinally thereof with 'the members of said carriers being of opposite hand, and means to rotate said carriers simultaneously in opposite directions, whereby bottles are supported by the helical members of the carrier and retained therein by said vertical walls and adapted so that as the carriers are rotated a` lowermost bottle is released thereby, a wall below and adjacent the lower portions of said helical members for receiving bottles released by said carriers.

3. Apparatus for dispensing bottles comprising in combination, a cabinet provided with horizontally spaced vertically extending walls forming magazines for stacks of bottles having their longitudinal aXes disposed horizontally, units for disv junction with walls adjacent thereto adapted to support the said bottles, gates swngable relative to the walls adjacent the carriers, supporting walls for bottles in the magazines, means for rotating said carriers simultaneously in opposite directions whereby bottles are released by the carriers, and means connected to said gates engageable by bottles in the gates in closed position adapted to swing on release by the absence of bottles in the inner magazines to allow bottles to enter the inner magazines from the outer magazines.

4. Apparatus for dispensing bottles comprising in combination, a cabinet provided with horizontally spaced vertically extending walls forming inner magazines to hold said magazines for stacks of bottles having their longitudinal axes disposed horizontally, units for dispensing bottles from said magazines and each said unit comprising, vertical and horizontally spaced walls and carriers between the innermost walls forming inner and outer vertical magazines, said carriers provided with longitudinally extending helical members for receiving bottles and in conjunction with walls adjacent thereto adapted to support the said bottles, gates swingable relative to the walls adjacent the carriers, supporting walls for bottles in the outer magazines, means for rotating said carriers simultaneously in opposite directions whereby bottles are released by the carriers, and means connected to said gates engageable by bottles in the inner magazines to hold said gates in closed position adapted to swing on release by the absence of bottles in the inner magazines to allow bottles to enter the inner magazines from the outer magazines, the helical members of said carriers being of opposite hand.

5. Apparatus for dispensing bottles comprising in combination, a cabinet provided with horizontallyspaced vertically extending partition forming inner and outer magazines for stacks of bottles having their longitudinal axes disposed horizontally, a unit for dispensing bottles from lower ends of adjacent inner magazines and from lower ends of outer magazines adjacent to and outside thereof, said unit including horizontally spaced adjacent inner and outer vertical walls and carriers between said inner walls, said carriers rotatable on vertical axes and cooperating with the inner walls to form adjacent inner compartments and provided with longitudinally extending helical members adapted in conjunction with said inner walls to receive and support bottles, said outer walls forming with said inner walls outer compartments outside said inner compartments, said inner walls provided with openings therethrough from said outer to inner compartments, gates swingable relative to said inner walls and openings, means operably connected to said gates engageable by bottles in the inner compartments to hold said gates in closed position adapted to swing on release by the absence of bottles -in the inner compartments to allow bottles to enter the same from the outer compartments, lower walls in said outer compartments inclining tcwards the lower sides of said openings, the helical kmembers of the carriers being of opposite hand,

and means to rotate said carriers simultaneously.

JOSEPH M. DEVENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,702,554 Walker Feb. 19, 1929 2,200,228 Simmon May '7, 1940 2,304,484 Smith Dec. 8, 1942 2,399,105 Donaldson Apr. 23, 1946 2,405,891 Larimore Aug. 13, 1946 

